20-year plan can deliver prosperity if properly implemented: Rafsanjani Tehran Times Political Desk

TEHRAN -- Expediency Council Chairman Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani said on Saturday that the 20-Year Outlook Plan can deliver prosperity if the people discipline themselves and properly implement it.

But the lofty goals of the 20-Year Outlook Plan cannot be materialized through extravagant slogans, he noted In an address at the second A Developed Iran in 2025 symposium.

He also pointed out that the 20-Year Outlook Plan is meant to enhance social justice and social security and to achieve balanced development of Iran’s regions, adding that the country’s underdeveloped regions should receive their fair share of development.

Justice is not established by increasing poverty, it is established by increasing prosperity, but this cannot be realized without the development of the country, which requires the use of the scientific approach and not extravagant slogans, he noted.

He explained that the 20-Year Outlook Plan has a number of goals, such as enhancing social security, increasing scientific expertise, and encouraging efficient management.

But, unfortunately, the culture necessary for implementing the plan has not taken root among officials, he added.

The 20-Year Outlook Plan was proposed by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, and in 2006 he issued an order for the privatization of state companies as envisaged by Article 44 of the Constitution.

Rafsanjani pointed to the great responsibility of the media in promoting the plan, saying it is the national and revolutionary duty of the media to explain the plan so people become involved and look forward to see its impact on their lives.

The general policies for realizing Article 44 of the Constitution, which calls for the privatization of state-run organizations and is a supplement to the plan, will be formulated and implemented, the EC chairman stated.

Developed countries rely on advanced knowledge, but Third World countries blessed with natural resources inefficiently provide the people’s livelihoods “from the next generations’ pockets,” he observed.

He stated that the first priority is to increase Iran’s scientific capabilities and to efficiently manage Iran’s development.

He went on to say that the next goal of the plan is to increase the people’s security since every movement, from the cultural to the economic, requires peace of mind.

It is not possible to provide social security by giving people a few pennies, but rather, people should be provided with social security from the cradle to the grave for justice to be realized, he said